Record dry conditions across California could create explosive wildfires at a time when the state should be rehydrating itself, experts warn.

Across California, vegetation that typically rehydrates with rain between December and April continues to get dryer and more dangerous, worrying officials who fear that wildfires will get worse as the fuel gets even dryer, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“It really is unprecedented. In my career, I’ve not seen this level,” said Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott. “It’s the first [weeks] of January and we’re seeing conditions that would normally be occurring in mid-summer. That’s what we’re up against.”

William Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, said California’s historically wet months of February, March and April look bone dry, and that is going to heighten the fire danger.

“It’s just explosive,” he said. “The grasses are just, they go up like a match…. Everything is good to go.”

The Colby fire in Glendora has demonstrated the dangers. The fire broke out after days of red-flag conditions that brought hot temperatures and winds to parts of Southern California as much of the rest of the country was in a deep freeze.

The fire started Thursday at 5:51 a.m., quickly consuming four to five acres. Within half an hour, it had burned 100 to 200 acres. Winds pushed the fire and embers at a rapid rate, ultimately burning more than 1,700 acres.